GRANDAL THINKS HIS GLOVEWORK IS AHEAD OF BAT

When Yasmani Grandal was promoted to the major leagues on June 29, both the rookie catcher and the Padres brass believed his transition would be toughest on defense.

But the 23-year-old says the catching has come around faster than his offense.

“I have always taken pride in being a catcher and I was a little worried about how that would go when the Padres first called me up,” said Grandal.

“But the pitchers and the coaches have made it easier for me than I expected.”

“Yaz’s defense and his handling of the pitching, game calling and pitch selection, has been pleasing, moreso than the hitting,” Padres manager Bud Black said Saturday. “His interaction with me and the coaches has been very solid.

“It’s a combination on his part of a willingness to learn and self confidence in knowing he can do this.”

When Grandal was promoted from Triple-A Tucson, Edinson Volquez and Kip Wells were the only two members of the current rotation that he had ever caught. He caught Volquez last season when both were with the Reds’ Triple-A team in Louisville. He caught Wells while both were in Tucson earlier this season.

Grandal had never caught Clayton Richard, not even in a spring training game. He had never even seen Jason Marquis or Ross Ohlendorf pitch.

“What I had was a lot of video I could watch and really good scouting reports,” said Grandal. “The scouting reports made it a lot easier to call pitches. And the pitchers and (pitching coach Darren) Balsley made it easy for me.

“The pitchers are old enough to know what they want to do. We went over things before every game. I’m just trying to help them with targets. The transition has been smoother than I expected.”

As for the hitting ...

Grandal has done well. He entered Saturday night’s game with a .288 average and five home runs for 10 RBI. But he didn’t draw a walk until his 62nd plate appearance in the sixth inning Saturday night.

“This might sound strange, but I think it is easier to hit up here but harder to get on base,” said Grandal. “The pitchers and umpires are so good, they all know the strike zone.

“The pitchers are always around the plate. And they’re coming straight at me. I’ve always had good pitch selection. But I’m not drawing walks like I did in the minors.

“And the defenses are so much better. In the minors, I always knew I could do it, hit, walk.”

One area on defense where Grandal’s game seemed to lag a bit was the running game. The first 17 runners who tested Grandal on steal attempts were successful. But Grandal has thrown out three of the last four runners who tried to steal second.

Stauffer to mound

Right-hander Tim Stauffer, who has made only one start this season because of an elbow strain, is scheduled to throw off the bullpen mound in San Francisco on Monday and Wednesday.

If all goes well, he could make a rehab start with the Arizona Rookie League Padres next weekend. No date for his possible return has been set.

Notable

• Alexi Amarista’s second, eight-game hitting streak of the season ended with an 0-for-4 Friday night. Both streaks have come over his last 18 games, with Amarista going 24-for-66 (.364).

• Right-hander Jason Marquis picked up his first win in five starts at Petco Park on Friday night. He entered the game 0-4 despite a 3.23 ERA in his first four starts as a Padre at Petco Park.